The 2024 Super Bowl saw the Kansas City Chiefs make history as the first team to clinch back-to-back Lombardi Trophies since the New England Patriots in 2004. the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in a close game that went down to the wire in overtime.  But the second the referee called time on Super Bowl LVIII, many NFL fans and pundits began turning their attention to next year’s championship game. 

 The Packers have found themselves in a slump in recent years, failing to make the playoffs in 2022 and leaving early in the other seasons. There have been some key reasons for this that have been examined at atomic-level detail, so it's clear what changes are necessary for a return to the glory seen in 2010. 

 Could 2025 be the year the Packers manage this, or will it be another season in which Cheeseheads are left disappointed?

What Do the Bookies Think?

Since the expansion of sports betting began in the US in 2018, Packers fans have embraced wagering on the NFL en-masse. For this reason, many of America’s biggest sportsbooks have made a lot of effort to reach Cheeseheads in their marketing. One way to do this has been to run free bet offers and other similar promotions aimed at new customers. 

With so many options on offer, NFL fans, particularly those passionate about the Packers, often turn to sites like Oddschecker to help find the best promotions and learn how to claim a bonus code at Bet365 and other leading bookies. Using the odds comparison tool for the Super Bowl, we can see that the Green Bay Packers are currently a long-shot underdog for next year’s championship game. With futures odds of around +2000, the team finds themselves in among the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins and a long way from the +600 and +650 favorites 49ers and Chiefs. 

 But are the bookies right?

The Absence of Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers’s absence was most certainly felt in 2023. While Jordan Love is a solid quarterback, he has some very big shoes to fill. Rodgers commented in December last year, saying that Love will enjoy a long and successful career in the NFL. 

However, Love likely has a few years to go before he can reasonably compete at the same level as a legend like Rodgers. He began last season with inconsistent performance, but improved as games progressed and is likely to start stronger and continue to get better as the 2024 regular season unfolds. 

There's every chance that this will continue to be a drag on results for the Packers in their quest for playoff success in 2025. 

Playoff Qualification

Good teams sometimes miss out on Super Bowl runs because they fall at the first hurdle - qualification for the playoffs. While the NFL’s structure is mostly fair in filtering the deserving and undeserving teams out of the post-season, it isn’t perfect. 

Additionally, the distribution of teams within divisions and conferences also influences success, since stronger divisions are harder to top than the weaker ones. 

The Packers have proven themselves to have a consistent ability to reach the playoffs, with just a few exceptions in the last two decades. Since 2007, the team has only missed out in 2017, 2018 and 2022. Qualifying last year, despite Love’s slow start, shows the Packers should be strong contenders for qualification in 2024. 

Combine this with the fact that the Packers’ competition is the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, and you can be confident that a playoff spot is the Packers’ to lose.